A newly elected West Virginia lawmaker was among the crowd of Trump supporters who stormed the United States Capitol on Wednesday, filming while he was among the crowd outside a door, ran with them inside and then he wandered the corridors along with dozens of others who had breached the building.
The lawmaker, Derrick Evans, posted the video on his Facebook page, where he goes by “Derrick Evans – The Activist” on Wednesday afternoon, but later deleted it.
Mr. Evans, who was elected Republican state delegate in November, posted several videos of the day’s events, narrating and joining “Stop the Theft” chants with crowds of other Trump supporters. In the deleted video, he is among a crowd that pushed against a door on the east front of the Capitol, some singing and others singing the national anthem aloud. Those at the front seem to be trying to get in, while Mr. Evans makes an ongoing comment about the attempts.
“Let’s go in,” he says, at one point turning the camera around to show himself wearing a helmet.
Suddenly, the crowd moves quickly and the crowd runs in, a woman shouting “We made it!” and Mr. Evans yelling “Derrick Evans is on Capitol Hill!”
What follows is a tour of the Capitol’s main floor, past the roundabout and the hallway of the statues, filming dozens of other Trump supporters who have invaded your front and seem unsure of what to do next. Some pose with statues and others film themselves on their phones. Chants of “Trump!” and “Freedom!” skirt.
Mr. Evans screams several times to people who flock to not commit any vandalism, insisting “this is our home and we respect it”. For a man, who appears to be a Capitol security officer, he says, “God bless you, sir. We still respect you, ”adding that there was“ nothing personal ”in what they were doing. Another police officer asks him and a group of others to head out, an instruction he ignores. “Patriots inside, baby!” He screams.
There is commotion in a corridor and someone tells Mr. Evans that some people are trying to get into one of the chambers. He turns and walks down the hall, shouting, “Oh my God, I can’t believe we’re here now! Who thought that would happen today? ”He then tries to start a“ USA! USA! USA! “As the video ends several minutes later, he seems to be looking for a way out.
In a Facebook statement on Wednesday night, Evans said he “traveled across the country to film many different events” and that he “previously had the opportunity to shoot at another event in DC”.
“I want to assure everyone that I have not had any negative interaction with the police authorities or participated in any destruction that may have occurred,” he wrote. “I was just there as an independent member of the media to film the story.”
West Virginia House of Delegates spokesman Roger Hanshaw said in a statement late on Wednesday that he “did not speak with Chief Evans about today’s events”, although he said he saw what was posted on social networks. He added that “breaking into government buildings and participating in a violent intentional breakdown of one of our nation’s most fundamental political institutions is a crime that must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”